Process for affixing covering material to frames.



L. E. BROWN.

PROCESS FOR AFFIXING COVERING MATERIAL T0 FRAMES. APPLICATION FILED050.31.1913.

1 152,?86 I Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

Witnesses. ifmtvgntor.

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LOUIS E. BROWN, BOX-BURY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO FABRINGTON MANU-FACTURING COMPANY, OF ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

PROCESS FOR AFFIXING COVERING MATERIAL TO FRAMES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Paten-tedSept. '7 1915.

Application. filed December 31, 1913. Serial No. SUI-801.

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that I, LOUIS E. BROWN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Roxbury, county of Suffolk,State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Processes forAfiixlng Covering Material to afiixing covering material suc'lr assatimvel Vet or'other textile material ormaterial of a similarcharacterto frames of various char acter such for example asthecardboard frames of the satin pufis used in jewelry boxes;

The invention has for an object to provide a process of thischaracterwhi'ch may be conveniently employed in the manufacture ofcertain auxiliary parts" of jewelry boxes such as pufls, pads andsimilar parts.

Theinvention provides a process by which the covering material is drawnto the desired shape and while held in this shape is cemented to theframe thus securing the thorough and permanent adherence of the coveringmaterial thereto, while in the exact shape desired.

The invention also provides aprocess. in which the adhesive agent may behandled and applied preferably to the frame in such a manner as nottoinjureor mar in any way the covering material; 7

The invention also provides a process in which the adhesive is handledand applied without danger to the operator and without spreading beyondits natural field of application so as tog-um up'or adhere to the.article being manufacturedat other pointsthan those desired or to themachines or t'ools'employed in the manufacture of the article.

This process is particularly useful in the manufacture of such articlesas jewelry boxes in which the appearance of the finished article is ofprime importance and in which materials'of considerable value areemployed.

The nature and object of the invention will appear more fully fromtheaccompanying specification and drawing.

Referring to the drawing in which I have illustrated, somewhatdiagrammatically, one form of machine suitable for applying coveringmaterial to a frame to form a satinpuff in accordance with my inventionFigure 1 is a sectional view showing the dies with the frame andcovering material in position, and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of thefinished satin pufi.

In accordance with my invention a coat ing of liquid shellac is appliedto one of the elements to be connected together and the shellac is thenallowed to'harden. When the shellac is dry the element may be freelyhandled without danger of thei'shellac spreading or soiling the article,the hands, or toolsused. The elements are then assembled, shaped to thedesired form and firmly pressed together especially at such points as itis desired that the elements-should be secured together, heat beingsimultaneously applied to the contacting surfaces to soften the shellac.The elements are thus securely cemented together while held in shapedcondition a perfectly formed and permanently shaped article thereforeresulting.

The process of my invention is preferably carried out by means ofinstrumentalities such as heated dies and accordingly I have illustratedherein one form of machine for so practising my invention and for thepurpose of illustrating my invention shall describe'the method of makingsatin puffs.

A frameof cardboard or similar material is provided on its outer surfacewith a coating ofshellac. This may conveniently be applied to thecardboard before it is cut to form frames, since the shellac does not inany manner interfere with the working of the material. I prefer to applythe shellac dissolved in a'volatile solvent which is then allowed" toevaporate. The prepared frame is placed upon one of a pair of dies and apiece of covering material such as satinv is placed over this die. Theother die which is heated is then depressed, drawing the coveringmaterial to shape over the lower die and frame, simultaneously pressingit firmly into'contact with the she'llacked surface of the frame. As theheated upper die presses the fabric down upon the lower die, itstretches the fabric and, by reason of the heating of the fabric,changes its condition destroying the elasticity of its fibers so thatwhen its margin is affixed to the frame it maintains the form of the dieover which it is placed. lhe heat of the die softens the shellac and,therefore, the covering material is firmly affixed to the frame by thesame operation that draws it to shape over the die and frame. 7

Referring to the drawings in detail, the machine illustrated comprises asupport 1, an expansible lower die 2, a vertically movable upper die 3and a yieldable tensioning member 4. i

The lower die is of a shape to receive the frame 5 and to presenta moldover which the covering material 6 is shaped. The upper die is of ashape and size to fit closely around the frame and is arranged todescend,.engaging the edge of the covering material 6 lying on theyieldable tensioning member 4 and to draw said covering mate- I rialdown over the lower die and press the edge thereof firmly against theouter face of the frame. The upper die is heated, a gas supply pipe 7being provided for this purpose wherefore the shellac .on the frame issoftened and thus causes the covering material to be. securely cementedto the frame while it is still held in shape between the dies.

The lower die is made in two parts, the fixed part 8 being rigidlysecured to the base of the support, and the movable part 9 being somounted as to permit a limited movement toward and from the fixedpart asby means of screw bolts 10 extending through slots 11 in the base. Aspring 12 mounted in a slot in the movable part is connected to movesaid movable part toward thefi'xed part and a foot lever 13 connected toa bell crank lever 14 by a link 15 serves to move the movable part fromthefixed part against the action of the spring 12 thu expanding the die.A shoulder '16 extends around the edge of this die and serves todetermine the position of the frame 5 when placed thereon.

The upper die is mounted to slide vertically in the support 1 and anoperating lever 17 is provided to depress it. This die is heated as bymeans of gas jets 18 connected to the gas supply pipe 7.

The yieldable member is illustrated as a i plate removably mounted ontwo yieldable posts 19. Springs 20 pressing against collars21 tend tohold the plate in elevated position. The tension of these springs issuflicient to cause the edge of the material to be held quite firmlybetween the plate 4 and the descending upper die so that the materialmay be drawn smoothly to shape over the lower die. A guide 22 isprovided on the plate toenable the operator to properly position thecovering material in the machine.

In operation, the frame is placed on the lower die and the die expanded.Covering material is placed on the yieldable tension member. The plate 4may conveniently be removed to give better access to the lower die forpositioning the frame and then replaced. The upper die is then depressedwhereupon the covering material is drawn to shape between the dies andafiixed to the frame, a slight dwell being sufficient to permit the heatof the upper dieto soften the shellac. The upper die may then be raisedf and the finished article removed leaving the covering material to onetype of frame but" the invention is not limited to such use.

It will be obvious that my process may be employed in a variety of waysfor applying covering material to frames of various kinds, and isespecially advantageous for applying covering material to frames orforms in which accurate shaping of the parts is desired. 1 s 1 Havingfully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is 1. The process of aflixing fabric to a-frame whichcomprises coating one of the elements with an adhesive substance neutralwhen cold, shapin the fabric by the application of heat andsimultaneously pressing the edges of the fabric to the frame andapplying heat thereto which causes the fabric to assume a desiredcontour and its ends and sides to be secured to the frame.

2. The process of aflixing fabric to a frame which comprises coating theframe with an adhesive substance neutral when cold, shaping the fabricby the application of heat and simultaneously pressing the edges of thefabric tothe coated frame and applying heat thereto which causes thefabric to assume a desired contour and its ends and sides to be securedto the frame.

3. The process'of forming pufis for boxes which comprises forming aframe of narrow strips, securing the sides and ends of a piece of fabricof greater area than the area of the frame to the sides thereof andsimulplailigously shaping the piece of fabric thus 4:- The process offorming puffs for boxes which comprises coating a rim with an adhesivesubstance which is neutral when cold, placing the rim around a diehaving a portlon prO ectmg through the rim, stretching a piece of fabricupon said die and pressing o the first-mentioned die.

6. The process of forming pufls for boxes which comprises coating theouter sides of a box-frame with an adhesive substance neutral when cold,placing the frame around a die having a portion projecting through theframe, pressing a heated hollow complementary die upon said box-frameand die which causes the fabric simultaneously to adhere to thebox-frame and to be shaped in the form of the projecting dieportion.

7. A process of making pufis for boxes which comprises coating a rimwith an ad- 15 hesi've substance which is neutral when cold, placing therim around a convexed die, stretching a piece of fabric symmetricallyover the die and affixing the same to the rim by a complementary heateddie which engages only the margin of the fabric.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS E. BROWN.

Witnesses:

H. J. BARRINGTON, E. JORDAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

. Washington, I). 0.

